This invention relates to printers, and in particular to a method and apparatus for reporting the status of a printhead in an inkjet printer.
An ink jet printer is a non-impact printing device which forms characters and other images by ejecting ink droplets, in a controllable manner, onto printable media.
Over time, inkjet printing has become more sophisticated, and now provides the capability to print in any number of colors, to print complicated graphic designs, to utilize a vast number of different fonts, and to print photographs. An ink jet printer typically includes at least one of the following: an ink reservoir; a printhead; a printhead-cleaning device; a mechanism for positioning the printhead with respect to the media; a media handling mechanism; and, a processor for controlling printing operations. The printer may also include a front panel for allowing a user to interact with the printer.
The ink reservoir stores a quantity of ink for use by the printhead. The reservoir typically supplies black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks which may be pigment based, dye based, paraffin based, as well as hybrid or composite based depending on the application. The reservoir may be located remotely from the printhead and may be connected by tubing or another suitable ink conduit for supplying ink to the printhead. The reservoir may alternatively be integrated with the printhead as a single assembly.
The printhead typically operates by ejecting ink droplets through nozzles onto the printing media. The printhead may utilize different techniques to accomplish this ejection. For example, in a thermal printhead, each nozzle includes a small chamber with an electrical heating element. Energizing the heating element causes the volume of ink present in the chamber to vaporize and to be ejected through the nozzle. The printhead typically includes a large number of nozzles which are individually controlled to form desired images on the media.
The printhead cleaning device is utilized to clean the printhead. The device typically includes a wiper, over which the printhead passes to wipe off any accumulated ink, ink residue, or fibers from the media which may collect on the printhead.
The printhead is usually mounted with other printheads in a carriage which moves back and forth to precisely position each printhead, and thus the nozzles of each printhead, with respect to the media. The carriage movement may be controlled by various positioning mechanisms. As an example, stepper motors may be used to guide the carriage along a rod or rods. The operation of the printhead positioning system may be coordinated with that of the media handling system to accurately place the ink drops on the media. The accuracy of the printhead positioning and media handling mechanisms is such that large format printers currently available are capable of printing 1200 dots per inch or more.
The media handling mechanism may include a series of rollers for advancing the media through the printer and for precisely positioning the media in coordination with the printhead positioning mechanism. A central platen is typically included to support the media during printing. Examples of printing media may include paper, acetate, cloth, etc.
For large format printers, also called plotters, there is a trend toward longer printing areas, and thus longer plotters, to accommodate wider media. At the present time plotters accommodating sixty inch wide media are commonly available. Another developing trend is an increase in the number of printheads per plotter. The number of ink compositions available for use is also proliferating in order to provide the number of colors and photographic quality desired by users. Correspondingly, the number of printheads present in a plotter to deliver these inks is also increasing. As the number of printheads increases, the number of reservoirs is also increasing, with a trend toward having one reservoir per printhead for increased ink capacity. An additional trend is an increase in the complexity and sophistication of the user interface. As software continues to play a larger role in the operation of a plotter, the user interface is becoming more complex and is capable of providing a user with increasing amounts of information about the system. However, due to display size constraints, this information may be initially displayed in an abbreviated format and details may only be available by traversing a number of screens.
On occasion, components of the plotter require adjustment, replacement, refilling, etc. These types of operations are referred to herein as service or service operations.
Several problems arise when a user is alerted that a component in the printer requires servicing. Because of the display constraints, the user may only receive an abbreviated message, and then must navigate through a series of screens to determine the problem and what type of servicing is required. If multiple components require different types of service at the same time, this navigation may be a tedious exercise and the user may be required to remember a large amount of information. Another problem is the distance a user may have to travel between the display and the component service area. The user may be required to move back and forth between the display and the component service area in order to obtain information and then perform the necessary service operations. In addition, the user may have to be able to distinguish which component needs service from a number of components that may be present in the same location.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for reporting various conditions of a particular printer component by utilizing indicators that allow a user to service the component without excessive movement between a display device and the component to be serviced.
It is another object of this invention to report various conditions of a particular printer component by utilizing indicators that are detectable by a user while the user is located proximate to the servicing area for a particular component.
It is still another object of this invention to provide for reporting various conditions of a particular printer component by utilizing indicators located proximate to the particular component.
A method and apparatus are disclosed for servicing a printer which has a processor and a display. The invention includes a component having circuitry for communicating a status of the component, where the processor, coupled to the component, further includes second circuitry for determining a service requirement for the component in response to analyzing the status of the component. Also included is an indicator, observable by a user performing the service at least when the display is not observable by the user, for indicating the service requirement to the user. The indicator may be included with the particular component, and may be a visual and/or an audible indicator.